Madeleine Neveus Epistle To My Daughter :: Neveu Epistle Daughter Essays

Madeleine Neveus Epistle To My Daughter Madeleine Neveu eloquently gives words of acquaintance to her daughter Catherine in her piece entitled, Epistle to My Daughter. Madeleine is quite aware of the attitude border educated women in her time period. Yet, she abandons those opinions to express her own for her daughter. Her epistle embraces the need for a woman to be true to herself and to stand on her own 2 feet, as opposed to relying on a man to hold her up. Madeleines epistle is quite straightforward. Her message to her daughter is very sincere. She starts her epistle by referring to traditional views on how one should live their bearing. Ancient lovers of learning, / Said that to God one must(prenominal) do ones duty, / Then to ones country, and a third to ones lineage (ll.1-3). But Madeleine is quick to overthrow those opinions. She then states that while she does honor God, she is completely helpless when it comes to public avail affairs on the other hand be cause men have every the power. I revere the Lord God as for my country, I omit all power, / Men have full authority (ll. 7-8). It is here that Madeleine refers to the Salic Law, the impartiality that excludes women from the throne. But Madeleines duty to her lineage or daughter is interpreted much more seriously. Since Madeleine has no control over Salic Law, she takes control of the matters she has a say in. Her daughter is under her control. She feels the need to provide the best life for her daughter as possible. And thus she writes this piece as a comport for her. After Madeline refutes the ideas of the old, she presents ideas for the future. The piece seems to pause just before she focuses solely on her daughter. The flavor of the first nine lines is snobbish almost. Madeleine seems to be raising her wind to ideas of the old. But as she begins to focus on her daughter, the tone changes. The snobbish tone becomes softer, gentler, as if shes raising her daughters ch in to decent her gaze and speak to herBut as concerns you, my daughter, who are so making love to me / I would be liable to great blame and reproach / If I were to lead you on the beaten path, / Seeing that your heart is born into virtue.